New York Times Disunion : Modern Historians Revisit and Reconsider the Civil War from Lincoln's Election to the Emancipation Proclamation

Did you know that regiments from the North and South kept pets including bears, eagles, badgers, even a camel as mascots? Or that a significant percentage of Civil War soldiers were under the age of 18? In this eclectic collection of modern commentary on the Civil War (culled from the New York Times' blog of the same name), scholars and historians explore the conflict from new angles. Their subjects include the roles of women in the war (at home and on the battlefields), as well as the experiences of African Americans, both slaves and freed man. There's an essay with excerpts from Walt Whitman's diary that convey his pride in the swelling Union ranks; another details Lincoln's failed plan to purchase all the slaves in Delaware with government bonds. The book is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the in war in all its complexities.--Hannah Dreyfus "Parade.com "